In the Heart of my Home

Katie and Gracie help put the Babies to Sleep

Which one of these babes is not like the others?

St. Andrew Novena

St. Andrew Novena

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment
in which the son of God was born
of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight,
in Bethlehem,
in the piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe, O my God!
To hear my prayer and grant my desires,
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and of His blessed Mother.
Amen.

It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.

Imprimatur: Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York
February 6, 1897

Loveliness of Advent Fair

It's a lovely time of year in our homes! Jenn has captured so many lovely ideas in her Living Lives of Loveliness Advent Fair. Brew a pot of peppermint tea(Nicholas likes his with eggnog instead of cream and he's our resident advent expert) and pay Jenn a nice long visit.

Stockings Hung with Care

It was an almost forgotten advent tradition. The phone call to Land's End. I used to be a major catalog shopper, back before I was a major internet shopper. One year, I called Land's End and ordered three monogrammed stockings. Two years later, new baby at my breast, I called again. And then again. And again, every two years, until there were seven. Last year, I hung those stockings and thought with a twinge of sadness how perfectly they fit in the spot we'd chosen--no room for another. A month later, I was pregnant! So, this year, I ordered a stocking for Karoline. But I ordered the one with the snowmen and not the angel. The girls learned of this mistake and protested loudly. Apparently, the family tradition is that the girls all have stockings with angels. I didn't know that two stockings made a tradition. Seemed like a nice tradition, though. So, it turned out that I had to make a phone call after all. And the very kind lady on the phone said, "A baby at Christmas! How lovely!" I kid you not--after a year of blogging loveliness permeating this pregnancy, she said "lovely." Lovely. And the whole conversation reminded me of this column, written in 1999. It was the weekend following Thanksgiving. My husband was traveling. I had nearly finished my Christmas shopping. And I had spent a couple of hours on the phone, bouncing back and forth between various members of my extended family; the first of several rounds of Christmas coordination calls. I was trying again to plan our Christmas celebrations, taking into account the visitation schedules of siblings and step-siblings. I was determined to have the perfect Christmas this year: everyone together to celebrate (except those who wouldn’t be civil to each other) and a revival of some fond traditions of childhood Christmases (without stepping on the toes of people who have found new spiritualities). In my mind, all these criteria could be met. This could be perfect. I hung up after round one, my head and neck tense, my soul weary. It didn’t feel remotely like Christmas and I had serious doubts that it would this year. I had one more call to make before I would call it a day. I needed to order a stocking for Stephen’s first Christmas. All my children have monogrammed needlepoint stockings and he would too. I called the catalog company and placed my order. "And I want to have it monogrammed," I said. "What should it say?" inquired the calm voice on the other end. "Stephen," I replied, tears springing unexpectedly to my eyes. "A baby at Christmas," she said. "That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?" In this space over the course of this year, I have reflected often upon how Stephen has shown me that God is bigger. He is bigger than any plan I have and He is bigger than worry or anxiety. I am a planner and God has shown me this year that only His plans are the perfect ones. Thoughts of Stephen at Christmas brought thoughts of another Christmas baby. I am quite sure that Christ’s birth wasn’t exactly the perfect Christmas Mary planned. I cannot even imagine a donkey ride nine months pregnant, in the throes of early labor. Caves full of animals stink. Hay makes me sneeze; I wonder if at least one person gathered on that night wasn’t wheezing. And in the tired, hazy, sweet hours after childbirth, when most women want to rest and just gaze at the fruit of their labor, the holiest woman of all was visited by smelly, dirty strange men and their sheep! The Blessed Mother was truly the ultimate gracious hostess. Exactly who is coming for Christmas? The Son of God. I think that I am the perfect hostess called to juggle the needs and wants of competing interests. I think I have to find the perfect gift for everyone on my list and wrap it in the perfect paper. I think we need to stick to the traditional twelve course Italian feast or I will disappoint my late grandmother. (Truth be told, my grandmother would have been so thrilled with all my children, she wouldn’t have cared about food at all.) I think I have to have a perfectly decorated house that smells of Christmas, despite my asthmatic children. Advent isn’t supposed to be a marathon of materialism and merrymaking. Christmas isn’t also known as "the feast of cooking, cleaning, and shopping." Christmas is a time to be Christ to one another. It is permission in a largely secular society to witness to the wonders of the Lord. In reality, the only thing perfect about Christmas is the Christ Child who longs to find shelter in our hearts. I am not Martha Stewart. I am an innkeeper. I am preparing a place in my home and in my soul for the Savior of the World. I need to be so grounded in prayer that Christ’s peace overflows from me to those in my home. Let the visitors come. Let them come whenever they want and stay as long as they want. I will make the house warm and the food filling, but above all, I will make certain that the Holy Infant is here. He will be the reason for our celebration. If He can cause the lion to lie down with the lamb, He can handle Christmas at my house. Despite all the other things on my list, I must make time for earnest, fervent prayer, because I know that I can’t do this under my own strength. I must invite the Baby. The only perfection here this year will be the Baby. Because a Baby at Christmas is what it’s all about.

What the ESPN guy does on his day off

It's ESPN Monopoly! Happy Birthday, Mike!

Advent and Christmas with Tomie de Paola and Others--Week 1

“Advent to Ascension” lapbook or notebook.  Read through the Gospel of Luke, using the Navarre Bible or the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.  As you go, illustrate and narrate the mysteries of the rosary and organize them into a lapbook.  Be sure to include the luminous mysteries. Other useful books include The Miracles of Jesus by Tomie de Paola, The Miracles of Jesus retold by Selina Hastings and The Parables of Jesus by Tomie de Paola.  Also, Mary the Mother of Jesus by Tomie de Paola is helpful for both text and illustrations.  Eventually, we’ll walk through the Bible, using lapbooks or notebooks as an organizer for study.

Scripture Memory Verse: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people form their sins. (Matthew 1:20)

Narration:

Listen to or read Merry Christmas Strega Nona (de Paola) and narrate and illustrate.

And

Listen to or read The Country Angel Christmas (de Paola) and narrate and illustrate.

Reading Practice:

Early readers can read Merry Christmas Strega Nona and The Country Angel Christmas after hearing it read aloud.   If this is too challenging, have the child read from a clean, corrected, typewritten copy of his own narration of the story.

For more advanced readers:
The Littlest Angel (Tazewell)

For Older Children:

Wonderworker: The True Story of How Saint Nicholas Became Santa Claus

Just David (Porter)

To Read Aloud together:
26 Fairmount Avenue This is Tomie de Paola’s autobiography.

Copywork and Studied Dictation:

For beginners:

Don’t think about what others have done.  Just be yourselves and you will make a fine Christmas.

For Level  2:

His halo was permanently tarnished where he held on to it with one hot, little, chubby hand when he ran, and he was always running.  Furthermore, even when he stood very still, it never behaved as a halo should.  It was always slipping down over his right eye...

For Level 3:

The friends, the relatives, the adoring public, the mint of money--they are all David's now.  But once each year, man grown though he is, he picks up his violin and journeys to a little village far up among the hills.  There in a quiet kitchen he plays to an old man and an old woman; and always to himself he says that he is practicing against the time when, his violin at his chin and the bow drawn across the strings, he shall go to meet his father in the far-away land, and tell him of the beautiful world he has left.

Safe surfing while mom makes lists and checks them twice:  Go to Tomie de Paola’s website www.tomie.com and spend some time there every week.  Kids can narrate about what they learned there.

And there is SO MUCH to learn and do at the Saint Nicholas Center.

This year, we are blessed to have many more St. Nicholas ideas at A Living Education.

Rabbit Trails for the whole family:

· Together, make a list of all the Advent activities your family does.  Compare the list with another family.  Are there any new traditions you would like to adopt?

· Write a family advent prayer.  Pray that this will be a special time to prepare for Jesus’ birthday

· Discuss the real hierarchy of angels.

· Help the child make puppets to dramatize Merry Christmas, Strega Nona.  Perform the show for family and friends on Christmas Day.

· Make apple star prints.  Cut an apple in half width-wise (surprise! there is a star inside) and use tempera to print the stars on paper.  Or print them on canvas bags or aprons with fabric paint and give as a Christmas gift.

· Make glitter glue stars to hang on the Christmas tree.  Draw stars in glue on wax paper.  Sprinkle with glitter.  When the glue dries, peel away the wax paper.  Use gold thread to hang.

·The country angels harnessed a star to shed light on the Christmas celebration.  During advent, we await Christ, who is the Light of the world.  Make an advent meditation candle to remind you throughout the season that it is Christ’s light that is a “light unto my path and a lamp unto my feet” (Psalm 119: 105).  Decorate a large pillar candle with colored beeswax cut into figures which represent biblical events from the time of Adam and Eve until Jesus’ birth.  (supplies are available from Hearthsong 1-800-325-2502)

· Bake something that requires “peeling sifting, pouring and stirring” like the kitchen angels did.

Read The Baker's Dozen and make cookies using the cookie cutters available from St. Nicholas Center.

·  Make a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner.  Throughout Italy, traditional dinners include twelve courses, in honor of the twelve apostles.  (See recipe box for ideas, including Big Anthony’s cod.)  This is a seafood dinner.  You can do this now or wait until it’s really Christmas Eve.

More rabbit trails for older children:

· Research Saint Nicholas.  Read how his legend evolved in Hark! A Christmas Sampler. Alternatively, read The Real Story of the St. Nicholas Legend. Narrate a story a day from The Real St. Nicholas: Tales of Generosity from Around the World.

· Find Turkey on the map.  What kind of country is it now?  Write or dictate a report on your findings. The Holy Father will be in Turkey this week, the week before St. Nicholas Day.  Have an older child follow the trip carefully and collect web reports and newspaper clippings.

·  Find Italy on the map.  Research Christmas traditions in Italy. Write or dictate a report on your findings.

·  Tomie de Paola has written several saint stories.  He doesn’t have one entitled The Story of Saint Nicholas.  Write and illustrate one.

Poet Study:

Read "Twas The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore, Matt Tavares (Illustrator).  Read every day, slowly, memorizing the poem together.  This is the only poetry for the entire month.  Break copywork into small chunks.  Let children illustrate segments as they memorize.

Picture Study:

Discuss Tomie de Paola as an author and illustrator.  Read The Art Lesson by Tomie de Paola.  Choose a picture of Saint Nicholas from Country Angel Christmas to study. Discuss your Saint Nicholas choice, without looking at the print, round robin style, beginning with the youngest child. Copy the picture or give a detailed oral narration of it. Compare an icon of Saint Nicholas to dePaola’s drawing in Country Angel Christmas.  Draw your own picture of Saint Nicholas in any style you wish.

Science and Nature Study

· Don’t forget to get outside for a hike and don’t let it get swept away by the pressure of the season.  A brisk walk is a great stress-buster for mom and kids.  Look for natural materials to use as Christmas decorations.

· Decorate pinecones with glitter or sequins or wire them into a wreath.  Tie cinnamon sticks with red ribbon.  String popcorn and cranberries for outdoor trees to feed the birds.

Music:

Enjoy A Classical Kids Christmas

Tea Time Read Aloud

Saint’s biography:  St. Nicholas the Wonder Worker (Neuberger) or The Real St. Nicholas: Tales of Generosity from Around the World.

Jotham’s Journey (Ytreeide)  This is includes a daily reading for every day of Advent and Christmas Day.  It is an adventure story that can get intense at times.  Preview each selection and paraphrase if you think it necessary.  Not a bedtime story. This is out of print. Worth finding.

This unit has been around for ten years or so and lots of us have done it.  If you've enjoyed it with your family and you have ideas to share, please leave them in the comments section.  We'll incorporate and update for next year!  Look for Week Two...ummm...whenever the baby allows me to write!

From the Archive: Christmas Reading

     We became devoted fans of Anne of Green Gables and the other Anne stories by L. M. Montgomery this year so it was with great joy that I reviewed Christmas With Anne And Other Holiday Stories, edited by Rea Wilmshurst.    The book is a collection of short stories by Montgomery published in magazines in the early 1900’s and two stories from the Anne of Green Gables series.  Like the books in the series, the stories can be a bit overly-sentimental but there is something so compelling and good about Montgomery’s characters and plots that the sweet is satisfying instead of sickening.  If your children haven’t met Anne, this book, read aloud, is a lovely introduction.  If they know her well, the two Christmas stories will be remembered fondly and the others will be fresh fodder for the devotion that Montgomery inspires in her young readers.

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            I have been writing reviews of advent books for several years and sometimes I wonder if there will be anything fresh to read.  The message of advent and Christmas can get a little worn when the book box is brimming and they all begin to look the same.  I read Papa’s Angels by Collin Wilcox Paxton and Gray Carden in one sitting, with tears streaming down my face.  It brought to mind a dear friend who has experienced the loss of both her parents this year and the hope and joy that I pray her children will bring her this Christmas.

Papa’s Angels is a book for older children.  It is a quick and easy read but it is deep and thoughtful and at times, dark and haunting.  Told through the eyes of Becca, a gifted twelve-year-old writer who lives with her father and four younger siblings in Appalachia, it is the story of the immense grief of a young father who has lost his dearly beloved wife to an illness just before Christmas.

 

            As Papa retreats more and more into his sorrow, the children become increasingly hopeless that they will ever again hear him sing or see him laugh.  Their grandmother keeps alive the flickers of hope that seem to be every child’s birthright and gently guides them to see how they can help their father stir from his misery.  Interspersed throughout the book are lovely songs that Papa has composed in happier days to celebrate his family and express the sweet, pure, lasting love he has for his wife. In the end, it is music, the wisdom of children, and the spirit of love that triumphs over loss and brings the father back to his children. 

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Jotham’s Journey  by Arnold Ytreeide is an advent storybook with one installment for every day of Advent.  The story is very compelling and my children frequently begged for more after one day’s devotion was read.  Ten-year-old Jotham travels across Israel, searching for his family and facing great danger and breathless adventure.  Ultimately, his journey takes him the Infant in Bethlehem.  While the author uses this book as a bedtime story, some adventures are rather intense and I prefer to read it to my children during the day.  We liked this one so well last year that I’ve ordered it for my godchildren this year.

 

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Bright Christmas:  An Angel Remembers comes highly recommended by my six-year-old who does not want to return it to the library.  The nativity story is told from the perspective of an angel-- not really an original story line.  What sets this book apart is the ability of the author to discuss the interaction of the supernatural world with the natural world and to shake off the constraints of time and embrace eternity.  The supernatural and eternity are not usually within the grasp of children but this book makes them so.  Readers young and old gain a greater appreciation of how the earth was made ready for the glorious night when Jesus was born.  The pictures are lovely and  add depth and warmth to the ethereal quality of the story.

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            I freely admit that I bought All for the Newborn Baby by Phyllis Root solely because of its title.  This book lies wrapped and ready, waiting for our newborn baby.  It is a well-researched, beautifully illustrated picture book that might be enjoyed by a small child on a quiet afternoon but will truly be appreciated by much older children and adults. 

            The author shares that she remembered being told as a child that some people are blessed on Christmas Eve with the ability to hear animals speak.  She researched Christmas stories from around the world that featured miracle tales of animals and  wove the stories into a lullaby that Mary might have sung to her newborn baby.  The text is very simple and the illustrations exquisite. This is a book that will truly be a treasure for those who collect fine Christmas books.

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For the very youngest child, Who’s Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate is engaging and endearing. The book follows a pattern so predictable that my son Christian, who was not even really a fluent talker at three, had the entire book memorized so that her could “read” it to Patrick, one.  All the animals in the stable take part in preparing their house for a very special visitor.

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Three of my children were baptized during advent and we received a lovely picture book as a baptism gift.  This is the Star  by Joyce Dunbar is a lovely story of the birth of Jesus that builds on itself.  The book works well as a read-aloud because it is rhythmic and employs rich, poetic language and gorgeous illustrations that hold the older listener while younger listeners absorb the story.

   

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  A picture book that is suitable for older children is The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey.  Toomey is a widower who has become sad and reclusive since the death of his wife and son.  A seven-year-old boy and his widowed mother are persistent in offering their friendship as Jonathon carves a creche for them.  The carving of the creche is a story within the story and there is a joyous miracle on Christmas day.  This is a tear-jerker that gives me chills every time I read it.  It is not sappy and overdone but truly touching.  This is the perfect picture book for children in the middle grades who might consider themselves too old for picture books.  The book was written by Susan Wojciechowski.  Illustrations are rich, realistic watercolors by P.J. Lunch.  If there is a seven-year-old boy in your life, you must have this book.  The rest of us should find a seven-year-old boy and buy the book so that we can live the story through the eyes of the child.

   

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Another excellent art book, whose text is pure scripture is a sophisticated picture book illustrated by Jane Ray called The Story of Christmas. The large pictures combine symbols from ancient and modern folk art to illustrate the Christmas story.  Text is taken directly form the King James version of the gospels of Matthew and Luke.  The book begs to be read aloud reverently by fathers on Christmas Eve.

 

   

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         A gift book to give a musical family is Silent Night.  The text is that of the lovely carol and the illustrations, in shades of blue and soft yellow, are by popular children's illustrator Susan Jeffers.  This book will help visual children to interpret the carol.  The pictures are very engaging.  Since the words are well-known, you might also find yourself digressing from the text to just chat your way through the book.  These are pictures for conversation.  Music is included so this book would make a pretty decoration propped on the piano.

   

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One book in our box which is so tattered and well-loved that I would like to replace it in hardback is The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger.  It tells the story of the dreams a donkey dreamt as he carried the Blessed Mother to Bethlehem.  This book is one of a few really “Catholic” feeling Christmas books.  The images of Our Lady—which read like a litany—are worthy of study and discussion with older elementary and middle school children but the story can stand on its own with very young children.  The pictures are beautifully colored and framed by a border of forget-me-nots, also called les yeux dex Marie.

 

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My children’s favorite last year was The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg.  A young girl named Lucy helps a stranger in town unpack the boxes in  his store.  There, she discovers that his is to be candy store.    The owner shares with Lucy the legend of the candy.  When held upside down, the cane is a “J”, for Jesus.  The red stripes represent His suffering, which washed away our sin and made us pure as the snow, represented by white stripes.  I really appreciated this gentle reminder that the sweet baby was born to die for all of us--the ultimate Christmas present.  The candy held upright looks like a shepherd’s staff.  I pointed out to my children that the bishops and the Pope carry such staffs today.  This book really begs to be a project.  Lucy and the candy man went to every house in town leaving candy canes and an invitation to the store to learn the legend.  I don’t think I’m up to entertaining the whole town, but perhaps a few neighborhood children would enjoy a candy cane and some cookies while we read some carefully chosen Christmas stories.

 

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The Legend of the Christmas Rose by William H. Hicks is the story of Dorothy, a nine-year-old girl whose older brothers are shepherds.  When they see an angel who directs them to a baby in a manger, Dorothy secretly follows them.  Just before she arrives, she realizes she has no gift.  Beautiful white flowers miraculously appear.  When she presents them to the Christ child, He performs another miracle.  The book is well-written and illustrated by lovely, realistic paintings.  To extend the book, I would bring some Christmas roses into the house.

   

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King of the Stable, by Melody Carlson, is the story of Matthew, who leaves his father’s affluent home to live with relatives in Bethlehem.  Not accustomed to working, Matthew is a bit discouraged when he is made “king of the stable,” in charge of feeding, watering,  and cleaning up after the animals.  Since this is Bethlehem and Matthew is in charge of a stable, wondrous things are certain to happen.

 

       

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 Jacob’s Gift by popular Christian author Max Lucado, tells the story of a carpenter’s apprentice, Jacob, who is competing with the other apprentices to determine who will be chosen to  help build the new synagogue.  Jacob loves working with wood and pours his heart and soul into a beautiful feeding trough.  He falls asleep just as he finishes only to be awakened by brilliant starlight and a tough decision.  Jacob truly learns that “when you give a gift to one of God’s children, you give a gift to God.”

 

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The Huron Carol is a beautifully illustrated, sophisticated picture book.  Illustrator Frances Tyrell has set pictures to the English translation of an old Christmas Carol composed by Father Jean de Brebeuf, a French Jesuit missionary who lived among the Huron Indians in the early 1600’s.The carol entwines the traditional Christmas story with Huron spirit and tradition. In this book, the pictures complement the text and maintain the authenticity of the Huron heritage.

 

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  From my favorite publishers, the folks at Bethlehem Books, comes The Miracle of Saint Nicholas.  Alexi is a Russian child whose grandmother tells him of the soldiers who closed Saint Nicholas church many years ago.  When he asks why they can’t celebrate Christmas there this year, she tells him that it would take a miracle.  The little boy believes in miracles.  I purchased this book to give to my children on the feast of Saint Nicholas.  It is my sentimental favorite because it reminds of me of people in my life who are very dear to me and who have meant much to the growing faith of our family. Two of my children’s godparents are Eastern Orthodox and, among other things, the boys are learning a true appreciation of Eastern religious art.  I am especially pleased with the icons throughout the text.   It is nice to see both the art and the faith of the Russians so beautifully depicted here.

 

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A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith was well-received in our house.  My children are fond of other books he has illustrated.  Wildsmith’s unique illustrating style is at its best in this book.  The story  is a simply told rendition of the nativity story, from the perspective of Rebecca, a little girl whom Mary leaves to care for a young donkey when the donkey’s mother carries the Blessed Mother to Bethlehem.   The young donkey misses his mother and Rebecca ends up in Bethlehem, too.   The paintings are anything but simple.  They are richly textured with brilliant color and lovely accents of gold.  We stopped and looked carefully every page.  This book begged to be followed by an art project, where gold paint was readily accessible.

 

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   My favorite book to give new mothers is When It Snowed That Night by Norma Farber.  My children really don’t sit still very well for this one.  I read it more for me.  It is so easy in the weeks preceding Christmas to get caught up in the busy-ness of life.  There is so much for parents to do.  What we forget is that often what our children need most is not that we do but that we be.  They need us to be available to them to talk or rock or read or just sit in comfortable silence when the story is finished.  This book remains in our Christmas box to remind me to slow down and just be with my children.  Reading aloud is a wonderful vehicle for doing that.

 

The book is composed of poems from many of the creatures who went to greet the Christ child.  At the end of the book, the queens come.  They are late, having left their children with sitters, and they don’t stay long because:

 

“Their thoughts are already straining far—

 

Past manger and mother and guiding star and child aglow as a morning sun—

 

toward home and children and chores undone.”

 

 

They are distracted because they are going in too many directions.  There are so many worthy causes—particularly during advent and Christmastime.

 

I don’t want to be like the queens, giving little bits of myself to lots of people and all of my heart and soul to no one.  Instead, I want to serve my Lord with my whole heart—caring tenderly for the children he has entrusted to me and guarding carefully my time so that I don’t over-commit and neglect my home and family.

 

We are given opportunities every day to bring into our children’s lives those things which are true and beautiful when we read aloud to them in our homes.  We have the opportunity to be like the last creature in Farber’s book, who identifies with and emulates the Blessed mother:

 

 

           I never got to Bethlehem,

 

someone, I thought, should (day and night)

 

be here, someone should stay at home.

 

I think I was probably right.

 

 

For I have sung my child to dream

far, far away from where there lies

 

a woman doing much the same.

 

And neither of our children cries.

 

Thankful Thursday

It's been a pretty amazing year and God has smiled on me abundantly.

1. I am so thankful for my husband, who works hard for our family.  I'm thankful for his tenderness, for his joyful openness to an abundance of children, for his wisdom.

2. I am so very, very grateful for Karoline Rose. There were some dark days and desperate prayers before she became a part of our lives.  With her, I see so beautifully the mercy of God and goodness of His plan. Every day, every moment of her life has been filled with grace.

3. And then there are the other seven!  My children are a joy to me and I am so thankful that I get to spend my days (and nights) in such wonderful company. I love living and learning with them.

4. Words can't really capture how grateful I am to Tim and Janette Smith, who work cheerfully, tirelessly, and generously to make the Real Learning forums a place of genuine community for me and hundreds of other families around the world. These are truly wonderful people and I ask all of you to say a prayer thanks and ask God to bless them this year.  And, of course, I'm thinkful for all the other people who share so generously and make the forums such a beautiful place.

5. I'm grateful for Catholic Heritage Curriculum, Five In a Row, Catholic Mosaic, and the dear friends who helped me put together this booklist. Thanks to all of them, and the wonderful world of Catholic homeschool blogging, our family's life is full of good things.

6. I am grateful for Little House authors, both those of yesteryear and those of recent history.  My life has been touched and shaped and changed by Laura and Lissa.  And I'm grateful that, for me, even when the cover of the book is closed, I have a forever friend. This is a two-fer.  It was Lissa who persuaded me to blog.  And it was Lissa who launched this blog when I was way too sick to write, never mind begin a new pubishing endeavor. And she was so right about all the good this blog and the blogging community would be for me.

7.  I am grateful for ESPN and especially for Monday Night Football.  (more on that later.) For now, let's just say this job has perks--this is a 3+ pound football from Jacksonville.  Karen and Lissa, it's chocolate! Never again will I say my husband doesn't bring me chocolate.

8. I am grateful for the Communion of Saints.  When people ask the inevitable "How do you do it?" question, this is the answer.  I am particularly thankful to St. Therese, St. Anthony, the Blessed Mother and (indulge me here on the canonization thing) John Paul II.  They worked together in my life recently to bring about some pretty amazing miracles.

9. I am grateful to all the people who have been so kind to me and my family throughout my pregnancy and postpartum.  We have received wonderful meals, beautiful gifts, and bouquet upon bouquet of heartfelt prayers. I am still overwhelmed when I think about how blessed I am to share friendships with such good people.

10. I'm grateful to know what it is to be truly healthy and well, in body and spirit. And this Thanksgiving, I'm particularly thankful that my mother knows the feeling, too.

Why? Part 2

Me (looking up from the computer where I'm trying to write my thankful post before Thursday) to Christian, Nicholas, Mary Beth,Patrick, and Karoline:  Why do I never get any privacy?

Christian: Because you had eight kids?

Oh, yeah, well there's that.

Why?

Nicholas:  Who made poison ivy?

Me: God did.

Nicholas: Why?  And why did He make bad animals? Oh, I know, so they can have cool shows on Animal Planet.  But then, if there were no stingrays, we'd still have a Crocodile Hunter.  You know, if brains weren't made, I wouldn't be smart.  How'd I get so smart anyway?  Oh yeah, God.

Quite a conversation and I barely talked.

Thanksgiving is Lovely!

Please visit KC and see how lovely Thanksgiving can be.  And while you're there, please say a prayer of thanks for the safe return of her Army husband. Might want to drop him a thank you note, too.

Is your child headed to college?

Love2Learn has posted some really wonderful references for parents and students in the application process.

Jan Brett's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Story 

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas  by Jan Brett

Supplemental Stories

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas  by Mary Engelbreit

“Twas the Night Before Christmas  by

Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book by Molly Rockwell

choose some supplemental St.Nicholas picture books to complete your study

Narration with innovation suggestions follow each subject. 

 *Trim the top of a red file folder for the lapbook into a miter to begin this project. We trimmed it with gold.

Character/Faith

v After reading the chosen story discuss the virtues of humility and charity as modeled by St Nicholas. 

v Research the office of Bishop. 

 What qualifications are necessary?

 Do Bishops normally get nominated by the people as St Nicholas did?

 Who is your local Bishop? Archbishop?

v For which countries, causes, and groups of people is St Nicholas a patron saint?

v St Nicholas’ tomb in

Myra

was a popular place of pilgrimage. What is the Catholic definition of a pilgrim?

v The sailors of

Bari

made a box to hold St Nicholas’ relics. What is a relic?

v students may wish to follow the suggestion found on at St. Nicholas Center

 to give anonymous gifts to a needy person without seeking recognition. Alternatively, siblings could draw names to be secret St Nicks to one another for the remaining days until Christmas.

History/geography/culture study:

v Read about the life of St Nicholas

v Make a timeline

v Narration with innovation: cut a graphic of St Nick and trace several blank pages on which to narrate his bio. Compile in order and attach with a gold brad at the miter to make fan book.

v Find a map of Asia Minor and compare to modern day

Turkey

     Narration with innovation: print and paste into lapbook

v Narration with innovation: A more in-depth geog option would be to compile St Nick customs  from various countries and make them into a map book – Could accordion fold paper and paste map on left side and the custom on the right.

v Identify the symbols associated with St Nicholas and narrate the stories behind them

     Narration with innovation: compile into vertical layered book (or tab top book) with symbols outside/explanation underneath

v Follow the development from St Nicholas as Saint of the Church into Santa the popular folk figure. Make a timeline. Who is responsible for the character of Santa as we know him now? 

v additional stories of St Nicholas for children can be found here and here, for older students.

v Watch the Jan Brett video online to see where the story is set.

v Find Stockbridge

Massachusetts

. Put Twas the Night Before Christmas story disk on

Massachusetts

.

v Look through the Norman Rockwell book to see how he depicted Christmas. Look for people and places in Stockbridge.

Language /Copy work options:

v *There are a number of stories about the life of St Nicholas on the Kids Pages link. Any of these may be used for copywork. 

Younger

St. Nicholas lived a long time ago, but he was a real person like you and me. When Nicholas grew up, he became a bishop. He kept on giving gifts to the poor, in Jesus' name.
Middle

"Here I live," smiled the man, "but after I leave my sticks I will carry your sack to your journey's end with a good heart, for it is Christmas when all men should help their fellowmen." 

from story on  St. Nicholas Center.

Older

Nicholas vowed that he would bring the Gospel of Christ to the people and defend the faith from all those who would assail it. Bishop Nicholas then lived his life in faithful service to God as protector of the poor and helpless, as advocate of justice for those in need, and as a faithful defender of the Christian faith.

v select a poem to memorize this week.

v memorize ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas

v Optional extras on the site include word searches or crosswords that can be completed as language fun work.

v preschool students may enjoy an echo story complete with hand gestures to act out

Additional titles to peruse!

Critical Thinking

v Compare/contrast St Nicholas and Santa

     Venn Diagram

  Narration with innovation: 2 flap minit bk

 

Art

v Compare the art in the three versions of the book.

v Print a Saint Nicholas icon. Study pictures of real icons. They are certainly different from the art styles in the books we are using. Use glitter glue and glitter paint to paint the icon printed from the website.

v choose an art/craft project such as the felt puppet

    Narration with innovation make a pocket to store your puppet in the lapbook

v create stand up St Nick dolls

v color pictures of St Nick to illustrate a notebook-style report

v The graphics included in the craft pages on the site would be excellent to make into cards for the shut-ins of your parish.

v St Nicholas is especially loved in the Russian Orthodox church which is known for its icon art. Research icons and see if you can locate St Nicholas icons on the internet. Follow this link for a meditation on such an icon:

Music

v Listen to and learn a traditional St Nicholas hymn or two.

v Music students may wish to print the sheet music and play traditional St Nicholas songs

Drama

v Students may choose a script and perform for the family.

v Older students may wish to organize a larger presentation for their homeschool group,  parish or local nursing home.

Cooking

Read The Baker’s Dozen and make St. Nicholas cookies from the cookie cutters available on the website.

And she SMILES!

Okay, so indulge me.  New baby and camera with really fast shutter speed.  You should see all the ones I didn't put up here;-)

I thought so...

Which Twentieth Century Pope Are You?

You are Pope John Paul II. You are a force to be reckoned with.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code I'm JPII; who are you?

Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby Lapbook

Story 

The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

Supplemental Stories

Musabi Man: 

Hawaii

’s Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man Jim Aylesworth

The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Tews

Read Alone: “Hansel and Gretel” and other stories by the Brothers Grimm

Social Studies

Compare the Hawaiian version of the story to Jan Brett’s story.

Narration with innovation (for the lapbook): Make a Venn diagram of the comparison.

Language Arts

This is a great book to use to reinforce a sense of story and story structure.

v This book is a circle story, so we can present it to the children with the circle drawn and divided into twelve parts.  Prepare pictures representing each part. As you read the story, paste the picture into a section of the circle, working your way around until you return to the first segment which was the picture of Matti's home. I laminated the finished wheel and then I placed another cardstock circle with just one wedge cut from it over the top and secured with a brad. Now, the circle can be turned to show each segment in turn as the child re-tells the story. You can see the wheel on the upper flap.

Narration with innovation (how to make the circle for a lapbook): Make an 8 inch medium weight cardstock circle. Divide into have twelve sections:

1) The house from the title page (that's where the story begins and ends)--2 1/2 X 3 1/4 inch reduction on the copier trimmed to fit the wedge

2) Gingerbread boy in the bowl .2 1/2 X 3 1/4 inch reduction on the copier trimmed to fit the wedge.

3) mother and father searching --copier reduction again

4) Cat--I printed this page as is and just trimmmed the figures

5)Dog--as the cat

6)goat--as the cat

7) girls with braids knotted--copier reduction

8) fox--as the cat

9) milk man--copier reduction

10) pig--as the cat

11) river scene --copier reduction

12) Matti with the gingerbread house --copier reduction

All my children enjoyed the circle story lesson. For the older ones, I encouraged them to write a detailed narration of the Gingerbread Baby, bearing in mind the structure of a circle story. The protagonist begins at home, goes on an adventure and then returns home.

v Discuss the structure of the story using the terms conflict, rising action, climax, and denouement. 
Be certain the child understands each term and can identify the part of the story.

Narration with innovation (for the lapbook): Gingerbread doll fold:

Accordian fold a piece of paper four times and cut into a gingerbread shape. There is a pattern at this site:

Decorate the cover of the folded book to look like the gingerbread baby. Opening it out, on the first fold, write “conflict,” then on the next one “Rising Action,” then, “Climax” and then “Denouement.” The children will identify and dictate each part. You can record these on the bodies of your folded dolls if you type and fiddle with the font.

v Look closely at the parallel story unfolding in the insets in the margin and discuss parallel construction.

Poetry and copywork:

Run, run, as fast as you can!

You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!

Once there was a gingerbread man,
Baking in a gingerbread pan.
Raisin eyes and a cherry nose,
Trimmed right down to his fingers and toes.
A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan!

Here's the old woman who made him so sweet,
A treat for her and her husband to eat,
She made him with flour and sugar and eggs,
She gave him a face and two arms and two legs.
A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan

Now open the oven to see if he's done,
This gingerbread man, he know how to run.
Out of the oven and onto the floor,
Now run away out the kitchen door.
The gingerbread man, he's out of the pan!

Now chase him old woman, now chase him old man
Chase him, yes chase him as fast as you can!
Through the garden and out the gate,
Catch him right now, before it's too late.
The gingerbread man, he's out of the pan!

Along came a cow who wanted a treat
And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a horse who wanted a snack
But the gingerbread man, he never looked back
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a farmer who wanted a treat
And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a dog who wanted a snack
But the gingerbread man, he never looked back
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a hog who wanted a treat
And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat
Run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man
I'm the gingerbread man and I'm out of the pan!

Along came a fox who wanted a treat,
And this gingerbread man, he looked good to eat.
Jump on my back, my gingerbread pet,
And we'll cross the river, so you won't get wet
Mr. Gingerbread man, who's out of the pan!

There was no place to go, there was no place to run
And a ride on the river could be lots of fun!
So off with the fox did Gingerbread go
And what happened next, you already know
To the gingerbread man, who's out of the pan

That sly old fox had a de-lic-ious treat

And the old man and woman had nothing to eat
Not a bite was left for the cow or the dog,
The horse or the farmer or hungry old hog
There's no gingerbread man in or out of the pan!

So let us go home and get out the pan
And we'll make ourselves a new gingerbread man!
And when he is eaten, we'll make us some more
But this time we'll be certain to lock the back door!
A new gingerbread man, in a gingerbread pan! 

 

Art/Cooking

v Watch the video online of Jan Brett drawing and reading The Gingerbread Baby 

v Mix and bake and decorate gingerbread baby cookies.

v Make gingerbread houses; kits are fine.

v Sequence the steps in making the house.

v Narration with innovation (for the lapbook) Gingerbread flap book:

At the Jan Brett site is an interactive activity where the children can decorate their own gingerbread houses. Each child did this activity and I printed the finished product at 75%. This became the cover of the book, seen pictured in the middle of the lapbook.

We built our gingerbread house from a kit. I save the picture directions, copied them for each child and cut them apart. On the next page of the book, a green piece of paper, cut to  the shape of the house, the child glued the steps to making the house in order.

The final page is another shaped green paper with a photo of the child building his house.

Stay tuned for plans for more Jan Brett Christmas books and a link to Kim's Jan Brett Lapbooks.

Thanksgiving lapbooks

Here is a narration of Cranberry Thanksgiving on the left and a Thanksgiving poem for memory and copywork in the middle.

Mary Beth has written things for which she's thankful on the turkey's feathers. The purple matchbooks open to tell about the events on the Mayflower.

The map shows the journey from England to Plymouth.In the centerpiece are the steps for planting corn (I think this, the map, and the Mayflower pictures are from Enchanted Learning.). There is a folded Venn diagram just below the map (it's hard to see because it's yellow). Mary Beth compared our Thanksgiving dinner with the Pilgrim dinner.

On the right in this picture (really the bottom flap) is a four part shutter book with picture of spring, summer, winter and fall reduced from N. C. Wyeth's Pilgrims.  This is a really beautiful book!Beneath the flaps are narrations of each season that I keyboarded so we could fiddle with the font and make it fit.

Happy Thanksgiving, Katherine!  I'm glad you asked.

A compelling reason...

...to forego that latte.

She SLEEPS! This is historic.  She's sleeping in the learning room while everyone else does math!  We might, maybe, really learn something before Christmas, after all. Who needs coffee; I'm euphoric!

The outfit came from Auntie Dawn. (This might be the most web-connected baby in history!)

Sabotage

He knows how hard it was to give up those lattes! He witnessed the withdrawal after the Very Last Starbucks!  He knows Gingerbread Lattes are my all-time favorites.  And yet this child was up last night writing so compellingly about gingerbread bliss, so that I could read about it first thing this morning and remember what I'm missing. To compound the craving, the Sugar Plum Fairy has a coffee theme too. Are they conspiring to weaken my resolve? I have to repeat the mantra:  Coffee makes me cranky; milk makes Karoline cranky; and sugar is BAD! Somehow, I'm not sure raspberry tea is gonna get me through this morning. Is there a way to make postpartum tea whipped, sweet, and creamy?  Anyone? 

For Religion Today...

Don't miss the beautiful slideshow:

November Feasts